Raindrops on roses and whiskers on kittens, Swiss hot chocolate and powdery ski slopes...these are a few of our favorite things. These are also a selection of heart-warming images that usually call to mind thoughts of traveling to Switzerland, and we'd never imagine having to add "assisted suicide" to the list. But alack and alas, it's true that Switzerland allows people to end their lives legally, so long as the decision is "not motivated by their own interests."

As a result of these liberal laws, Swiss towns that usually welcome tourists for things like good chocolate and yodeling have also become destinations for those who check in only to check out permanently. It's a depressing story—excuse us for dampening your Friday morning—but it's a large issue now in Switzerland and Britain as the Swiss seek to put further rules on who can get assisted suicide and CNN points out that many of suicide tourists are British, averaging two per month since 2002. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-10-30T09:19:19-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/9/29/95846/8287

Just ahead of Halloween, a creepy disturbance shutters one of Paris' most morbid destinations. Now tourists won't have the treat of walking among the 14th-century dead while city officials find the grave-raiser.

A tourist destination dating back to the 19th century, the Paris Catacombs, resting place of French Revolution figures like Georges Danton, contains bones dating back to the 14th century. Some 300,000 visitors a year trek out to the 14th arrondissement to check out the remains of more than 6 million Parisians, until earlier this month when an unknown number of vandals tipped over several stacks of those remains, making the path through the tunnels impassible. ]]> egw 2009-09-29T11:33:50-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/19/154351/136

At least one aspect of Michael Jackson's life will be kept private: The King of Pop will be buried on his birthday at Forest Lawn Memorial Park in Los Angeles—away from the prying eyes of the souvenir-takers.

Although Forest Lawn's Great Mausoleum has been closed for decades, we've rooted out a few places where you can get personal with the famous corpses of your choice. Below, Three Cemeteries Full Of The Famous: ]]> egw 2009-08-19T17:24:37-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/9/225234/9290

On Saturday, just after noon in New York City, yet another crash took place in the Hudson River as a tour helicopter and small airplane collided in the air and then dropped into the river, killing 9 people.

The latest reports indicate that 7 of the 9 bodies have been recovered, along with the fuselage of the crumpled Liberty Tours helicopter and the black box; the small Piper PA-32 plane remains underwater. This tragedy took place near the same spot on the river where US Airways Flight 1549 safely landed after a mid-air bird strike causes it to use the river as a runway. However, that incident was tagged "Miracle On The Hudson" for its incredible story including no loss of life; this last Saturday's accident is instead branded "Horror On The Hudson." ]]> JetSetCD 2009-08-10T08:39:32-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/8/5/8561/36675

Note to self: never fly into Thailand's Koh Samui island during heavy tropical rainstorms. Way back in 1990, bad weather caused a Bangkok Air plane to crash into a coconut grove, killing all 37 people on board. Yesterday it was again a Bangkok Air plane that crashed on Koh Samui, but this time the only fatality was the pilot.

The flight, from resort island Krabi to the Koh Samui, another resort island, landed during heavy rains and failed to brake hard enough to stop the plane from skidding into an unused airport control tower.

Onboard were many tourists, including a British couple on their honeymoon who suffered injuries, yet only 7 of the 72 people on board needed to be transported to a hospital for treatment. Although the pilot died, the co-pilot survived with only leg injuries.

Related Stories:
· Life Fears Of Plane Crash Briton [BBC]
· Four Britons Hurt In Fatal Thai Air Crash [Times UK]
· Accidents Coverage [Jaunted]

[Video: ITN]]]> JetSetCD 2009-08-05T09:12:53-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/7/17/9125/87064

Where are re-runs of The Love Boat when you most need them? Cruise travelers these days have never had it so difficult, what with the threat of possible Norovirus and Swine Flu outbreaks, not to mention the occasional occurrence of people mysteriously falling overboard. The latest news, that a man has stabbed his wife to death this week while onboard the Carnival ship Elation, doesn't threaten the whole ship but it does make for one creepy cruise.

After sailing away from San Diego for a 5-night cruise to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico, ship authorities were called to the couple's cabin to investigate a domestic disturbance. After finding the wife already deceased, the ship announced "gray star"—supposedly crew code for a murder onboard—and placed the woman's body in the ship's morgue and her husband in the brig, or ship's prison.

The murder happened on the final day of the cruise, which makes us sad that the husband didn't find comfort in the wise words of someone like Love Boat bartender Isaac, who always managed to say the right things to make couples iron out their differences and disembark happier than ever. Perhaps the cruise lines put the advice-dispensing bartenders on the newer ships?

Related Stories:
· FBI Investigates Murder On Cruise Ship [NBC San Diego]
· Husband arrested in woman's death aboard cruise ship [LA Times]
· Cruises Coverage [Jaunted]

[Elation Photo: Lisa Andres]]]> JetSetCD 2009-07-17T09:32:12-05:00 http://www.jaunted.com/story/2009/6/30/93525/3782

We don't know about you, but we're tired of hearing about all the deaths in the last month; from the tragedy of Air France Flight 447 to the passing of famous faces like Farrah Fawcett, Michael Jackson and yes, even Billy Mays. Perhaps the world joins us in this exhaustion over bad news, because yesterday night's crash of a Yemenia Airlines flight off the coast of the Comoros Islands hasn't unleashed a media frenzy.

To fill in the details, the Yemenia Airbus 310, originating in Paris, was en route from Yemen's capital Sanaa to Moroni Airport in the Comoros crashed into the ocean after making a first attempt at landing. The crash was so close to the island that it was witnessed from land, and yet a police official admitted "we really have no sea rescue capabilities."

Nearly 4-5 hours later, rescue boats began finding debris from the airliner and bodies of the crash victims. Up until this morning, it was believed that none of the 153 passengers had survived, but then a toddler was pulled from the ocean and taken to a hospital. ]]> JetSetCD 2009-06-30T10:32:19-05:00 Search Jaunted string http://www.jaunted.com/search/